IKS_CH06_C06
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the ancient Indian system of measurement for time, length, and weight, highlighting their significance in trade, science, and astronomy. It delves into the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which provides a detailed timeline from nanoseconds to billions of human years. The concept of 'paramanu' is introduced as the smallest unit of measurement for time, length, and weight, with calculations based on scriptural references. The video also discusses the practical applications of these measurements in ancient texts like Arthashastra and Ayurveda, and the use of balances from the Harappan period. It concludes by setting the stage for the next video, which will reveal the ancient Indian understanding of the binary system.
Takeaways
- 📏 Ancient Indians had a robust system for representing large numbers and unique numerical expressions.
- 📐 Units of measurement for time, length, and weight were essential for trade, science, and discoveries in ancient India.
- ⏳ The Srimad-Bhagavata Mahapurana describes a detailed time measurement system, from 10^-5 seconds to 432 billion human years.
- 🔬 The term 'paramanu' in ancient texts represents the smallest unit of measurement for time, length, and weight, but it is not directly equivalent to modern subatomic particles.
- 💡 Light passing through a paramanu determines the smallest unit of time, approximately 1.31 x 10^-5 seconds.
- 📏 Ancient Indian length measurements start from the paramanu, with progressive units increasing by powers of seven, leading up to larger measures like the yojana, equivalent to 14.484 kilometers.
- ⏱️ The Bhagavata Purana describes a unique experiment to define the unit 'nadika' by using a copper vessel with a small hole made by a specific golden needle.
- 🕰️ The ancient Indian system linked smaller time units up to large scales, like a kalpa, with 1 kalpa equating to thousands of celestial years.
- ⚖️ Historical evidence, such as from the Harappan period and Arthashastra, shows the use of calibrated balances and systematic weight measurements.
- 🧪 Ayurveda required precise weight measurements for accurate ingredient mixing, highlighting the importance of a well-defined weight system in ancient Indian practices.
Q & A
What are the three main types of units of measurement discussed in the video?
-The three main types of units of measurement discussed are time, length, and weight. These were essential for trade, science, and other practical purposes in ancient India.
What is a 'paramanu' and how is it defined in the context of time, length, and weight?
-A 'paramanu' refers to the smallest measure in the Indian system. It represents the smallest unit of time, length, and weight. For time, it is the time taken by light to pass through a paramanu, calculated as 1.31 x 10^-5 seconds. For length, it is 2.88 x 10^-7 millimeters, and for weight, it is 5.79 x 10^-5 grams.
How were larger units of length derived from the paramanu?
-Larger units of length were derived by multiplying paramanus. For example, seven paramanus made a 'Renu,' seven renus made a 'Truti,' and so on, using powers of seven to move from one unit to the next.
What is the length of one 'yojana' in modern terms?
-One yojana is equivalent to 14.484 kilometers, as calculated from ancient Indian measurements.
How did the Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapurana describe the concept of time?
-The Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapurana provided a detailed description of time, spanning from 10^-5 seconds (paramanu) to 432 billion human years. This is elaborately described in Chapter 11 of Book 3.
What is a 'nadika' and how was it measured?
-A 'nadika' was a unit of time measured using a copper vessel with a hole pierced by a golden needle of specific weight and length. Water would fill the vessel until it submerged, and the elapsed time was recorded as one nadika.
How was the diameter of the hole in the copper vessel calculated for the nadika experiment?
-The diameter of the hole was calculated using the weight, length, and specific gravity of the golden needle used to pierce the hole. This allowed for precise measurements in the nadika experiment.
What were some historical examples of weight and balance systems in ancient India?
-Balances were in use as early as the Harappan period. The Arthashastra provides detailed descriptions of weight systems, balances, and calibration methods, including 16 types of balances for different materials.
What significance did Ayurveda have in the development of weight measurements?
-In Ayurveda, precise measurements of weights were essential for mixing the correct quantities of ingredients, often involving metallic substances. Thus, a well-defined weight system was crucial for the practice.
How did the ancient Indian system calculate celestial and human lifespans?
-The system calculated celestial lifespans by equating 360 human years to one celestial year. It stated that 12,000 celestial years make a Mahayuga (4.32 million years), and 1,000 Mahayugas make a Kalpa (one day of Brahma).
Outlines
📏 Units of Measurement in Ancient India
The paragraph discusses the importance of units of measurement in ancient India for trade, science, and scientific discoveries. It highlights how the Indian number system was robust and how units for time, length, and weight were defined. The scriptural references to these units are found in 'Srimad-Bhagavatam Mahapurana', which includes descriptions of time units from 10^-5 seconds to 432 billion human years. The concept of 'paramanu' is introduced as the smallest measure of time, length, and weight, with calculations based on scriptural references. A table is mentioned, which shows the progression of units of length, starting from paramanu to larger units like 'yava'.
🕰️ Time Measurement and Experiments in Ancient India
This paragraph delves into the ancient Indian methods of time measurement, referencing 'Bhagavata Mahapurana' for an interesting experiment involving a copper vessel and a golden needle. It describes how to measure time by observing the flow of water through a hole made by the needle. The paragraph also mentions the conversion of these ancient measurements to modern units, such as meters and seconds. The experiment involves calculating the diameter of a hole based on the weight, length, and specific gravity of gold.
📚 Historical Facts and Weight Measurement Systems
The paragraph explores historical evidence of weight measurement systems in ancient India, such as the use of balances from the Harappan period. It references 'Arthashastra', a text from the 2nd Century BCE, which provides details on weight measures, including lower denominations for precious metals and guidelines for the development and calibration of balances. The paragraph also touches on the importance of accurate weight measurements in Ayurveda for the correct mixing of ingredients.
🔍 Ancient Indian Weight Measures and their Significance
This paragraph focuses on the ancient Indian measures for weight, starting with 'paramanu' as the smallest unit. It describes how these measures were calculated and how they relate to larger units like 'vamshi'. The paragraph emphasizes the reasons for having an elaborate system of weight measurements, such as their use in Ayurveda and trade. It concludes by mentioning the transition to the next video, which will discuss the binary system and its ancient Indian origins.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Indian Number System
💡Units of Measurement
💡Srimad Bhagavatam
💡Paramanu
💡Length Measurement
💡Time Measurement
💡Weight Measurement
💡Arthashastra
💡Ayurveda
💡Binary System
Highlights
Ancient Indian knowledge system had a robust number system and units of measurement essential for trade, science, and scientific discoveries.
Units of measurement for time, length, and weight were defined in ancient Indian texts like Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Paramanu, a fundamental unit, is not directly related to the modern subatomic particle but has a unique time measure.
The time taken for light to pass through a paramanu is the smallest measure of time, approximately 1.31 x 10^-5 seconds.
Paramanu also defines the smallest measures for length and weight, with specific values for each.
Ancient Indian literature provides a detailed table of length measures, starting from paramanu to larger units like yava.
The length of one angula is approximately 1.67 centimeters, based on ancient Indian measures.
Ancient measures of time were described from 10^-5 seconds to 432 billion human years.
The Bhagavata Purana describes an experiment to measure time using a copper vessel and a golden needle.
The thickness and diameter of the golden needle can be calculated using its weight, length, and the specific gravity of gold.
Ancient Indians used balances from the Harappan period, as revealed by archaeological excavations.
Arthashastra, a 2nd Century BCE text, provides detailed measures for weight and guidelines for balance calibration.
Ayurveda required precise weight measurements for the correct mixing of ingredients in medicinal preparations.
Ancient Indian measures for weight started with paramanu, with calculations based on scriptural references.
The video concludes with a mention of the next topic: the ancient binary system and its fundamentals.
Transcripts
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[Music]
so in the previous videos
for five of them
we saw how Indians looked at numbers how
they thought about large numbers number
names and how to uniquely represent
numbers also so we have a robust number
system in place now
the second thing that is required is
units of measurement
because all these are required for all
trade science scientific discoveries
everything we need all these so in this
video we will very briefly see
how the Indians or the ancient Indian
knowledge system as you may call it has
deployed some units of measurement for
time length and weight these three are
very important so let us see how they
have thought about the units of
measurement for this
Begins by defining certain measures of
length volume mass etcetera because it
is a its a work on mathematics so he
need to he needs to put all these in
place so you find some shlokas in which
all these are explained in
srimad-bhagavatam mahapurana
you know people think purana means it's
all God and religious well that is true
there are lot of material in puranas
actually so in srimad bhagavata
mahaprana in book three
there is an elaborate description of
units of time
starting from 10 power minus 5 Seconds
to 432 billion human years this entire
span of time is described in chapter 11
of book 3 actually in srimad-bhagavata
mahapranam
ah in the ancient Indian literature
what we also find is a certain
definition called paramanu
now when you say paramanu I would like
to clarify it is not in any ways
directly related to the modern day sub
atomic particle because paramanu we may
think you know its subatomic particle
it's not directly related ah in that
sense but in some ways it may be
now ah the time taken for light
to pass through a paramano
constitutes the smallest measure of time
so when you say paramanu of time
ah which turns out to be you know if you
use some of the scriptural references
and compute it turns out to be 1.31 into
10 power minus 5 Seconds that seems to
be the elapsed time for light to pass
through a paramanu that's why it is
called paramanu equivalent of time
similarly if you look at the weight and
length of the paramano
it will respectively constitute the
smallest measure for weight and length
so for example the paramanu for length
would be
2.88 into 10 power minus 7 millimeters
similarly the Paramount of our weight
will be 5.79 into 10 power minus 5 grams
in fact all these I have computed based
on the scriptural references and I have
come to these numbers one or two I will
actually show you you know in a tabular
form then we can relate it to that
now we look at the ancient
Indian measures for length what I will
do is let us look at a table and go
through the table and understand how
they have specified different measures
for length
so what you see here
is a table
and as you see here it starts with
what is called
paramanu Raja one paramanu Raja that you
see here is
2.8778 into 10 power 7 millimeter now
the measures go like this it says seven
paramanos will make a Renu
seven rhenos will make a through T which
means 49 permanus will make a through T
so that's how these numbers are coming
seven through T's will make a varthya in
a Raja that's why you know again
multiply by seven you get 343 paramanu
Raja will make one Bhatia in a Raja and
so on so Sasha Raja is
one grain of barley actually so Eva
so ah you know you can keep on Multi
maybe seven of the previous one make the
next one so it is all power seven
actually so that is what these numbers
are showing four crores three lakhs 53
607
ah paramanos will make actually one yava
that's what it because I am just
multiplying it by this table seven seven
seven and all and then that's how you
come here and one anguli parva is seven
yavas again
so again multiply this number by seven
you get this so This many permanent will
make this number
so ah we know this measure actually
anguli parwa from which I back
calculated all of them and reached this
point so that's how this ah numbers of
measures for length are there
and from anguli parwa you go to Greater
measures so you have angula one angula
is again today in modern terms we know
one angula is ah actually you know ah
one point six seven
um you know
um centimeter and so on that so these
numbers are coming everything is in
meters now earlier it was in millimeters
now it is meters so eight eight angulas
make one dhanur mushti OK and three
dhanur mushtis make on prajapatya hasta
foreign
foreign
so one yojana is 14.484
kilometers and basically from this
number from angula we kept on
multiplying and arrayed at this number
actually so that's how all these
calculations are made in this particular
modern measures relating modern measures
to the ancient Indian measures
now about time
let us take this bhagavata mahapurana in
which there is a very interesting
experiment mentioned here what you see
here is a shloka Dua dashar the Paloma
so this is the shloka so what this loka
is saying is
12 ardha is half so we are talking of 12
divided by 2 which is 6 and it says six
Palace
so there are six palas chaturbischa also
four also four Palace
so there is another measure then you
have chaturangulahi you are talking
about four inches
so we have now three measures we have
six Pala
four Pala these two are weight measures
and you have four inches which is a
length measure
so we have all these from the first line
of this shloka and the second line it
says
it talks about a swarna Masha
and Marsha is a needle and swarna Masha
is actually a
Golden Needle
that's what it is talking about now
krita is piercing a hole
and then it says
a copper vessel of a certain measure so
now let us make sense of what is going
on in this particular shloka
so it basically says take a copper wire
part weighing six Palace OK which can
hold water of one prasta
is so much gram 640 grams means 640 ml
because water specific gravity is one
and now it says you try to
uh krita make a hole at the bottom
okay and with what with a Golden Needle
swarna Masha
weighing four mashas one Masha is one
gram and the length of four angula so
you know
all that we saw so this is what it is
now the interesting part is gold
and it talks about
a weight of four mashas
correct
and it talks about a length of four
inches
and with this information because of
specific gravity of gold you can
actually get the thickness of the rod
actually
because of weight and length and
specific gravity you can get the
thickness of the rod if you get the
thickness of the rod you can get the
diameter of the hole which is being
pierced
that is all contained in this loka so
you take a Golden Needle four inches
long weighing four mashas that means you
know what is the diameter of the rod
based on specific gravity you can
calculate and with that you are actually
piercing a hole and put that water
copper vessel on a water body
leave the part and start a stopwatch let
us say we start a stopwatch if you start
a stopwatch wait until the now water is
coming from the bottom so wait until the
water is fully
filled fully with water and it is just
about to submerge in the water at that
time stop the watch and record the time
and this elapsed time is called nadika
and with that in bhagavata purana it
relates so many nauticals make something
else to nadikas make something
that is how the entire description of
time is given so we will see the
description now
so here is the table and just now we saw
a definition for nadika which is a
scientific experiment
it says take a
vessel do all that and then put it and
all that kind of thing right but in the
in that particular chapter there are so
many descriptions starts with paramanu
it says two paramanos make an Anu three
anus make a Thrust Reno sixth thrust
rainos make a three T and 18th make away
the 100 Vedas make a lava three lovers
make a Nivea nimesha it goes on up to
is nothing but ah you know it is one ah
one fourth of a daytime or some such
thing so one actually knows one can
calculate what is the
duration of time in seconds that's where
you can start and then back work
everything that's where I started and
then I kept on dividing by this number
to get this paramanu number which turns
out to be some 10 power minus 5.
now we can move the the same chapter
goes further now we have one fourth of a
day then you can talk about a day you
can talk about uh you know
paksha and then you can talk about a
Masa Masa is uh you know two pakshas
make a Masa and two ritus make two masas
make a rutu
and three ritus make a an Ina
dakshana two inas make a human ear
then the lifespan of human ear is 100
years so you can calculate that
then it there is a formula for
calculating the celestial lifespan
it says 360 human years
ah
makes 360 days make one year so 360 into
hundred makes hundred years of a
Celestial lifespan which comes to 36 000
human years and then thousand twelve
thousand Celestial lifespan make a Maha
yoga which comes out to be such a large
number right 43 lakhs 20 43 crores 20
lakhs makes on mahayuga then thousand
Maha yugas make a kalpa so all these
numbers are described in a single
chapter in bhagavata purana and what you
find is you have a description of time
from 10 power minus 5 Seconds to a very
large number that you see here so these
are the descriptions of time this is one
example there are many examples
available I just took one example from
srimad bhagavata purana
now let us talk about weights and
balances and let us look at some
historical facts that are part of it
actually if you look at the excavations
the excavations have revealed that
balances have been in use from the
Harappan period itself that's what all
these Sindhu Sarasota excavations are
telling us
if you look at arthashastra which
belongs to 2nd Century BCE which which
is 2300 years is what we are talking
about
arthashastra provides Vivid details on
measures for weight
there are lower denominations of weights
for precious metals which are being
described there are guidelines for
development of 16 types of balances to
be used
and there are also very interesting you
know descriptions of how verification of
these balances are made once in three
months to ensure that the balances are
calibrated you know even in modern times
you need to constantly calibrate devices
and there is an inspector of devices who
should certify similar things are
described in arthashastra actually
so what you see here is a nice
illustration of a balance which is of
the mauryan time this is a constructed
balance it's not the actual balance
based on the descriptions they have
constructed this balance and what you
also find is ayurveda has multiple
measures for weights because they are
very much required for correct mixing of
the ingredients in ayurveda they use
different components metallic substances
and so on so you need to measure the
correct weight and then mix the right
ingredients therefore there was a well
defined system of Weights is what I am
actually coming to
so now let us look at some ancient
Indian measures for weight look at this
table
and this table actually presents
these measures again we start with
paramanu and one paramanu is
5.787 into 10 power minus 5 grams again
if you ask me how did you calculate
based on this number is known
that four Palace make 48 grams so from
there I backward with all these ratios
and came up to this number so that so
you know we have constructed some of
these numbers so anyway coming back 30
paramanos will make a vamshi
foreign
these days we don't but we were using it
I distinctly remember these kinds of
measures so what I have shown here so
far is an elaborate system
of how length
time and weight have been specified and
there are reasons for it you need
elaborate descriptions of descriptions
of time because astronomical
calculations were involved you need you
know measurements of weight as I told
you you know in ayurveda it is used and
of course in any trade you need to use
therefore therefore you know elaborate
system of calibration of balances
different types of balances all these
were described in arthashastra so with
this we will conclude this section of ah
units of measurement that ancient
Indians have been using we will move to
the next video which is a very
interesting video which talks about how
this binary system which we have been
using in the last 60 70 years and the
fundamentals of that were actually
available in an ancient work which we
will see in the next video
[Music]
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